EBA Holds Consultations on Draft Regulatory Technical Standards for Crypto Asset Market

According to Foresight News, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has initiated three rounds of consultations on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under the Market in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The consultations aim to specify liquidity requirements for asset reserves, highly liquid financial instruments in asset reserves, minimum content of liquidity management policies, and procedures for token issuers. The consultations will continue until February 8, 2024. The EBA stated in its consultation on transaction reporting for asset reference tokens (ART) and electronic money tokens (EMT) denominated in non-EU currencies that the RTS draft aims to clarify the scope of transactions related to the use of ART and EMT denominated in non-EU currencies as a means of exchange. Issuers should report the scope of these transactions and how they should estimate the quantity and value of such transactions. In the consultations launched on the draft recovery plan guidelines for ART and EMT issuers, the EBA stated that through the recovery plan, issuers of ART and EMT should be prepared in advance to deal with adverse situations that may affect their ability to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to asset reserves. The EBA also proposed overall techniques for asset reserve liquidity management, including minimum creditworthiness and liquidity robustness of credit institutions absorbing deposits from issuers, concentration limits on issuers' deposits in credit institutions, and over-collateralization of token-backed assets.